250th Anniversary of the Population Census in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Exactly 250 years ago, in 1743, Bishop Pavao Dragićević completed the first detailed census of Catholics in Bosnia and Hercegovina. This was still the difficult period of Turkish administration when life for Chatolics was hard. In the eighteen century Bosnia and Hercegovina was called Bosnian Pašaluk and divivde into four regions: Bosnia (16 kadiluk), Hercegovina (17 kadiluk), Zvornik (19 kadiluk) Klis (4 kadiluk). Several decades before the first census by religious confession the Franciscan Provincial of Bosnia Hercegovina had founded five monasteries: Kraljeva Sutjeska, Kreševo, Fojnica, Tuzla and Imotska witsk 50 monks. The area of Hercegovina from Drinovci and Mostar to Čapljina and Neum was under the pastoral care of the Bishop of Makarska in Dalmatia from which Bishops Father Marijan Lišnjić, Don Nikola Bijanković and Don Stjepan Blašković carried out apostolic visits concerning which they informed the S.Congregation de Propaganda Fide in Rome.